Today is Ash Wednesday; a day that signals the start of a period of fasting, mourning, and repentance for Christians, the season of Lent. This morning I attended an Ash Wednesday service and received upon my brow a cross of ash. In the Old Testament the prophets are always ripping their clothes and sitting around wearing ashes in mourning and repentance for the sins of Israel. I felt today a connection with those ancient prophets as I repented of my own sin and sat covered in ash in repentance for the sins of my country and my generation. Over the next forty days I will be participating in lent, an time of confession, reflection and repentance for the sins I have committed, and by extension, the sins my people have committed. This is a sad and dark time, but as the title of this blog reminds us, hope remains, and that hope is in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Now is a time for repentance for our sins, but repentance is not a mere cerebral activity, it is transformation and rebirth in Christ. Join with me this Lenten season in an act of repentance, and look forward to the joy of Christ risen.
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